Chase Community Solar (CCS) is a volunteer-led Community Benefit Society (a type of co-operative), which was formed in 2014 in order to partner with Cannock Chase District Council in their endeavour to help make energy more affordable for their tenants. As a result, CCS had solar panels installed on 314 of the Council-owned bungalows, and the tenants are able to use the electricity generated by the panels free of charge when the panels are generating. The panels are owned by the members of the Society.
Since then, following the award to CCS of a grant for the purpose, the Society had storage batteries fitted in 75 of the properties which have CCS-owned panels on their roof, allowing greater use of the free power. And a number of solar diverters have also been installed, which help to heat the water in some of those homes which still have hot water tanks.